William Jennings Bryant

William Jennings Bryant once thwarted an attempt to corner the gold market.

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyala could recite the Gospel of Mark from memory, alternating each word between Latin and Greek.

Pope Pius V

Pope Pius V had one rooster named after eleven of the apostles; everyone except Philip.

William Shakespeare

It is recorded that William Shakespeare's last words were composed in iambic pentameter; however, his actual last words are lost to history.

King Henry VIII

The second wedding of King Henry VIII was briefly interrupted by an escaped pig.

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro pioneered an early version of dental floss, and insisted that his soldiers use it daily.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccol Machiavelli preferred to dine on horseflesh.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther played jacks.

Baden Powell

Baden Powell once donated a hand-built catapult to England's National Portrait Gallery.

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson once wrote a fan letter to The Clash.

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf once bid on an actual wolf at a London police auction. She was turned away for not having the necessary licenses.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright had a series of large-scale tricycles built for himself, insisting that the two-wheeled variety would never truly catch on.

Laurel and Hardy

Stan Laurel died of a heart attack while visiting the grave of Oliver Hardy.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt had recurring nightmares about his time with the Rough Riders.

John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller funded early research into what would become cryogenics.

Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini boiled a potato every day of his adult life, and always gave it away.

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman collected dentures, and would often whittle spare sets as he recited his poetry.

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams hoped to have a son that would also become president, but he only had daughters.

William McKinley

William Mckinley was the first to use graphite, rather than lead, in pencils.

Herman Melville

Due to a shipping accident, Herman Melville was inadvertently buried at sea.

Pope Pius III

Pope Pius III was buried along with the remains of his beloved pet goat, Charity.

John Locke

John Locke had a party trick in which he would juggle four copies of the King James Version of the Bible.

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas was born with a vestigial tale.

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams met her future husband at a costume party, at which they both arrived dressed as bears.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill had a birthmark shaped like Germany.

Bach

When Bach died, there were over 20,000 seashells in his home.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson owned a horse who was also named Thomas Jefferson.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen shot skeet.

Henry VIII

Henry the VIII condemned three men to "death by sea monster." Since no sea monster could be found, the men were released.

Franklin Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt owned a tuxedo made of dollar bills.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison once punched out a bank robber.